Atlantic Philanthropies

With Novell ZENworks Configuration Management, the organization centralized the management of its Windows desktops, while reducing local consulting costs by up to 75 percent across several offices.

About Atlantic Philanthropies

The Atlantic Philanthropies is dedicated to bringing about lasting changes in the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people. The organization's grants are strategically focused to have an impact on critical social problems related to older adults, children, people with little or no access to health care, people who are being denied basic human rights, and people struggling to live in peace with their neighbors.

Challenge

Based in Bermuda, The Atlantic Philanthropies has offices in several countries around the world, including Australia, Bermuda, Ireland, New York City, South Africa and Viet Nam. Maintaining a standard IT environment across all of these locations was a challenge. The organization relied on local consultants to manage desktops in many of its smaller offices.

The Atlantic Philanthropies wanted to standardize and manage its Microsoft Windows desktops from a central location. Providing remote management would not only reduce administration time and costs, but would also improve user support.

Novell Solution

Working with Computer Integrated Services (CIS), a Novell Platinum Partner, The Atlantic Philanthropies evaluated a number of desktop management solutions, including Altiris and LANDesk, before selecting Novell ZENworks® Configuration Management.

"We knew Novell ZENworks Configuration Management was the right fit for The Atlantic Philanthropies," said Michael Zepernick, president of CIS. "Based on our successful deployments with other customers, we felt confident we could implement the solution for a fixed price."

With the help of CIS, The Atlantic Philanthropies implemented Novell ZENworks Configuration Management to standardize its Windows-based Dell workstations and IBM ThinkPad laptops across geographically dispersed locations.

"We were pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to install Novell ZENworks Configuration Management and how well it manages our Windows environment across a range of endpoints," said Jay Leslie, IT executive at The Atlantic Philanthropies. "CIS has been exceptional. Their product expertise and dedication to solving any problem has made this project a huge success."

Using Novell ZENworks Configuration Management, The Atlantic Philanthropies can now remotely distribute new applications to all its offices in less than a day. The IT staff can now be much more responsive to the needs of the business with the ability to immediately roll out new applications as needed.

Instead of relying on local consultants to troubleshoot desktops, the organization now uses the remote control features of Novell ZENworks Configuration Management to take control of a user's desktop and guide them through a solution. If the problem takes too long to fix, the IT staff can re-image a user's machine in less than 30 minutes.

"Using Novell ZENworks Configuration Management, our IT staff can help our users wherever they are in the world, without having to leave their desks," said Leslie. "This allows us to provide immediate user support and significantly reduces our need for on-site consultants in each of our offices."

Previously, The Atlantic Philanthropies sent its IT staff out to every office at least twice a year to perform a hardware inventory. Using Novell ZENworks Configuration Management, the organization now has a real-time view of its inventory and can create accurate reports at any time.

"Novell ZENworks Configuration Management has transformed the way we inventory our hardware and software, and provides a holistic view of our IT assets, because we can now do it in real-time rather than going out into the field," said Leslie. "We also plan to track software and hardware usage to avoid overbuying licenses and machines that aren't actually used, which will further reduce costs."

By centralizing desktop management, the IT staff has greatly reduced travel time and can now concentrate on improving efficiency. The company has recently implemented a green IT initiative to automatically shut down desktops at night and restart them in the morning, greatly reducing power consumption and costs.

Results

By implementing Novell ZENworks Configuration Management, The Atlantic Philanthropies has centralized desktop management for its global Windows desktop environment. The IT staff can now deploy applications 90 percent faster and has reduced travel time and costs by 60 percent. The IT staff has also reduced the time spent on routine administrative tasks by 20 percent.

Overall, the organization will reduce its consulting costs by 75 percent in most offices, with no adverse impact on users. The IT staff is now able to focus on strategic projects, rather than routine troubleshooting.

"Without Novell and CIS, we would have little control over our desktops and little idea of what people are actually using," said Leslie. "Novell ZENworks Configuration Management gives us all the tools we need to efficiently manage our desktops, regardless of location."